An Uncomfortable January

Welcome to 2013 everybody! Does seeing a picture of me with a mustache make you uncomfortable? Good. That is what this series is all about. I love new beginnings and New Years Day is the pinnacle of all things new. Includng the introduction to a new series on Lark & Bloom.

A few months ago, I realized how comfortable I had become. I was reading a book that was talking about personal growth. While reading it, I was struck by the need for risk. If we don't risk and do something outside of our comfort zone then we stay stagnate. And we stop growing. I realized that had happened to me. Life was comfortable and in return I sat back and stopped challenging myself. I stopped growing.

So, I decided to change all that. A question began to roll around in my brain...What would happen if I did something outside my comfort zone EVERY day? The more I thought about it, the more excited I became. And so, this series was born.

Welcome to An Uncomfortable January. Every day this month I am going to do something outside of my comfort zone and tell you about it. Some of the things may seem silly, some may seem brave, but the point is to do something that causes me to risk just a bit in some way.

I am slightly terrified but mostly excited. I'd love for you to join me in this challenge. Imagine if we all risked every day for a month. What would happen? I've invited a few friends to try it and we will be hearing from some of them throughout the month as well.

So, here we go.

An Uncomfortable January Day 1:

I am giving up reading my stats for a month. That may not seem big, but for a blogger it is.

My stats tell me if people liked my post. If they commented or shared it with someone else. I can tell if I hit a home run or if it was a dud. I can see what people are interested in reading. That isn't bad in itself, but it can start to be a driving force for what I write about.

I don't want to write in order to gain more readers, I want to write because I have something to say. So, I am going to say it without being guided by what my analytics are telling me. I want to be genuine with my words and thoughts.

Giving up my stats for a month is incredibly uncomfortable. Will anyone even be reading the blog by February? Who knows? And at the end of the month I'll report how it felt to not see my statistical report card each day. Maybe it won't make any difference, or maybe it will change everything. We shall see...

I said it before, but I really would like you to join me in this adventure! If you do something as a part of Uncomfortable January, I'd love to hear about it. Leave it in the comments or shoot me an email. If you blog about it, I'd love to share a link to it here.

So, happy January everyone. I pray it will be blessed and very, very uncomfortable.